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Mr. President, Here Is Common Ground on Abortion!

President Obama has reneged on an increasing number of his
pledges on taking office - from guaranteeing a transparent,
accountable administration to ending CIA “renditions” of suspects
to foreign nations known for torture. Now, however, he has a golden
chance to fulfill his often-repeated goal of achieving a “common
ground” in the abortion wars.

Two pro-life Democrats - Congressman Lincoln Davis of Tennessee
and Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania - have introduced the Pregnant
Women Support Act (HR 2035 in the House, S 2407 in the Senate). As
Davis says, “It’s not about pro-life or pro-choice.” It’s about
“what we can do to bring a reduction to abortions.”

To begin, as the Associated Press reported (March 25): “For many
Americans, the recession is affecting the most intimate decisions
about family planning…Planned Parenthood of Illinois clinics
performed an all-time high number of abortions in January, many of
them motivated by the women’s economic worries.”

Before this year, Davis has emphasized: “Of the 1.29 million
abortions performed annually, 73 percent of women seeking abortions
list economic factors as contributing to the decision to have an
abortion.”

Accordingly, as Davis reports (Johnson City Press, Feb. 19), the
Pregnant Women Support Act would “Repeal the sunset on adoption tax
credits and make them permanent … fully Fund Federal WIC Program.
Special Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) … and
increase funding for domestic violence programs” (the latter
violence against women often spurring abortions).

This literally life-saving legislation, in vital need of support
from the president, would also end the denial to pregnant women of
health care from insurance companies because of “pre-existing
conditions.”

Says Lincoln Davis: “A child is not a cancer. A child is not a
heart attack. It’s not diabetes. A child is a human being and is
not a disease.”

Like Davis, Bob Casey, an Obama campaign supporter, has
reintroduced the Pregnant Women Support Act in the current Senate
in the belief that “we can transform this debate by focusing on
issues that united us, not the issues that divide us.”

His list of what the bill actually contains is too long for the
space I have, but here are sections that provide a crucial
challenge to both pro-lifers and pro-choicers to focus their
passions on real-life, real-time common ground.

The Pregnant Women Support Act, Casey notes, “creates a new
pilot program for ‘Life Support Centers’ to offer comprehensive and
supportive services for pregnant women, mothers and children.

“Establishes a national toll-free number and public awareness
campaign to offer women support and knowledge about options and
resources available to them when they face an unplanned
pregnancy.”

And listen to this, Mr. President: “Establish nurse home
visitation for pregnant and first time mothers as an eligible
benefit under Medicaid and SCHIP. One example of this is the
Nurse-Family Partnership, an evidence-based program and national
model in which nurses mentor young first-time and primarily
low-income mothers, establishing a supportive relationship with
both mother and child.

“Studies have shown this program to be both cost effective and
hugely successful in terms of life outcomes for both mothers and
children.”

Two additional parts of the Pregnant Women Support Act address
mounting concerns. It will “assist pregnant and parenting teens to
finish high school and prepare for college or vocational training”
- and will “help pregnant college students stay in school, offering
them counseling as well as assistance with continuing their
education, parenting support and classes, and child care
assistance.”

Last year, during a crescendo in the abortion wars, Davis said
(The Tennessean, Sept. 12, 2008): “People get angry and they scream
and shout…and nothing gets done for the people we all say we care
about. If we can pass this bill and get it implemented across the
country, I believe we can dramatically reduce the number of
abortions.”

That same newspaper story told of 28-year-old Michelle Smith
working two jobs while a full-time student at Volunteer State
Community College, and deciding to have an abortion for economic
reasons. But, at a Nashville Agency, Hope Clinic, for young women
confronting unplanned abortions, she was given a pregnancy test and
a sonogram.

“Once I saw my daughter’s face,” Michelle Smith said, “I knew I
didn’t want to have an abortion.” (Note: The Pregnant Women Support
Act would “give women free sonogram examinations by providing
grants for the purchase of ultrasound equipment.”)

As of this writing, Obama has given no indication that he will
back the Pregnant Women Support Act. If you really believe in
reducing pregnancies, stiffen your back, Mr. President.

Now a parent of a lively 2-year-old, Michelle Smith says: “She
never ceases to amaze me.” That happens to me every time I see my
newest grandchild, 4-year-old Ruby Hentoff.

Nat Hentoff is a nationally
renowned authority on the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights.
He is a member of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press,
and the Cato Institute, where he is a senior fellow.